Small business group files suit over Biden student loan plan
Another lawsuit has been filed against President Joe Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness program, by a group claiming the administration did not seek public input on the program as prescribed by law.
The suit was filed Monday by Job Creators Network Foundation, a nonpartisan organization founded by entrepreneurs who “believe the best defense against bad government policies is a well-informed public,” according to the organization’s website.
The organization claims that the administration violated federal procedures when it failed to seek public input on the plan to erase up to $20,000 of student loan debt for some borrowers, according to The Associated Press.
Elaine Parker, president of Job Creators Network Foundation, told the AP that the program was an example of executive overreach on Biden’s part and it failed to address the “outrageous increase in college tuition that outpaces inflation every single year.”
“This bailout is going to affect everyone in this country because of the mass size of the program,” Parker said. “And everyone should have the opportunity to provide their views to the government.”
“These universities need to be held accountable for this student debt crisis,” Parker added.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and named the U.S. Education Department and its secretary, Miguel Cardona.
In addition to challenging the administration’s legal justification for the program, the suit claims the Biden administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act’s notice-and-comment procedures.
The suit also claims the program was proposed “with an eye toward securing debt forgiveness in time for the November election.”
White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan defended the loan forgiveness program in a statement released Monday.
“While opponents of our plan are siding with special interests and trying every which way to keep millions of middle-class Americans in debt, the President and his Administration are fighting to lawfully give middle-class families some breathing room as they recover from the pandemic and prepare to resume loan payments in January,” he said in a statement.
The suit is one of several filed in the past two weeks that take aim at the program that cancels $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 a year, or households making less than $250,000.
Pell Grant recipients will be eligible for an additional $10,000 in debt forgiveness.
